Rewarding partnership between Starwood and Uber

Global hotel and leisure giant Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, Inc and peer-to-peer high-end car booking platform Uber have announced they are forging a partnership to give Starwood Preferred Guest members and travelers who ride with Uber the opportunity to quickly earn loyalty points worldwide.

The loyalty points, Starpoints, can be used for flights, room stays and room upgrades in Starwood sub-brand hotels including St. Regis, The Luxury Collection, Westin, Le Mridien, Sheraton and Four Points.

Starwood owns and operates 1,200 hotels and leisure properties in 100 countries, while Uber provides car-hailing services in 290 cities in 53 countries.

"This new partnership with Uber accelerates our Starwood Preferred Guest members' drive to rewards and is just one more way that Starwood is combining high-tech and high-touch to transform their travel experiences," said Adam Aron, CEO of Starwood Hotels and Resorts.

"It is especially satisfying for us at Starwood to be partnering with a cutting-edge and innovative pioneer like Uber," he added.

After linking existing SPG and Uber accounts and completing one qualifying stay in the calendar year at any Starwood hotel worldwide, SPG members using Uber can simply sit back and enjoy the ride while watching their points rack up.

All SPG members will earn one Starpoint for every $1 spent on Uber rides - with bonus earning awarded while in-stay.

The global partnership is available in every market where Uber operates, including the United States, China, Brazil, and Europe.

"When we looked at how to make the Uber experience even better for our millions of riders worldwide, a partnership with Starwood was a natural fit," said Travis Kalanick, CEO of Uber. "There's a Starwood property in the majority of the 291 cities where Uber operates."

"With this first-of-its-kind partnership, SPG members can now get an extra reward for taking an Uber anytime anywhere."

wanghuazhong@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 02/28/2015 page10)